The All-Blooper Reel Team
Who makes the most and does the worst? These guys!
LF: Vernon Wells. The Yankees thought it would be a good idea to trade for Wells. It was not a good idea. He started off ok in the Bronx but quickly spiraled down to the batting average he totes today: .221. That’s a little better than 2011 when he hit .218. It’s a little worse than last year when he hit .230. 2013 cost: $21,000,000
CF: Matt Kemp. I tried to do this list without any DL guys but I’m not missing a chance to dog a Dodger. He’s hit 2 bombs in 191 at bats. His bold claim of going 50/50 is laughable. 2013 cost: $20,000,000
RF: Josh Hamilton. This dude was MVP in 2010 hitting .359. He’s hitting .207 this year. And it’s a soft .207, if that’s even possible. He’s *only* making $17,000,000 in 2013 but in the final 2 years of his 5 year deal he’s making $32,000,000 each year! That’s freaking awesome.
1st base: Albert Pujols. He’s been better than any of the guys listed above, hitting 13 bombs in 2013. But he’s batting a pedestrian .265. His bomb totals over the last 5 seasons: 47, 42, 37, 30 and on pace to go under 30 this year. Meanwhile, his salary is $16,000,000 this year and here’s what he makes each year over the next 8 seasons: 23mil, 24mil, 25mil, 26mil, 27mil, 28mil, 29mil, and finally, at age 41 (that’s probably closer to 44) he’s making 30mil! The Giants get crap about the Zito and Rowand deals but that is NOTHING compared to the spectacularly bad contracts the Angels dole out (or take on in the case of Wells).
2nd base: Rickie Weeks. He’s hitting .217 and making 10 mil and he sucks and the Brewers still owe him 11 mil next year…..
shortstop: Stephen Drew. Disappointment, thy name is Drew. The amount of dough that Stephen and his broken down brother have coaxed out of teams for pathetic production is staggering. Boston’s paying him $10,000,000 this year to suck and hit .225.
3rd base: Michael Young. He’s been ok this year, hitting .285 but he doesn’t hit for power or steal (3hr’s/1sb) and he’s making $16,000,000 in 2013. At least the Rangers are paying 10mil of it for the Phillies.
Catcher: Brian McCann. People talk about McCann like he’s one of the best catchers in the game. He’s not. He hit .230 last year, .235 this year and he gets hurt all the time–usually with ticky-tack physical problems. He’s one of the highest paid catchers in baseball at $12,00,000
The Pitchers:
Joe Blanton: Joe’s only making $7,000,000 this year but he’s making 7.5mil next year and I love picking on the Angels and their mindblowingly stupid spending ways. Blanton is 1-10 this year and he’s pitched WORSE than his record indicates, if that’s possible.
Dan Haren: The Nats decided it was a sound idea to pay him $13,00,000 in 2013 to pitch to a 5.72 ERA and everyone knew he had a bad hip. Idiotic.
Tim Lincecum: Yes, he’s pitched a little better than he did last year but for $22,000,000 in 2013 (and 20mil in 2012) you expect more for your money.
Matt Cain: Again, there are worse starting pitchers out there. But for $20,000,000 I’d want more than the 4.53 ERA Matty is dragging around…….
Cole Hamels. Wow, where did it all go wrong? Lots of people predicted he’d win the NL CY this year. He’s 2-11. 2013 salary: $20,000,000
Closers:
Between 2010 and 2011 Carlos Marmol saved 72 games. The Cubs are paying him $10,000,000 this year to literally dump gasoline and light the match on the score of every game he enters this year. I’m sure Dodger fans aren’t too happy with Brandon League down in LA and the $7,500,000 he’s making to lose his cler job to Jansen.
Anyway, this is a fairly subjective list and there are countless others who probably belong on it. Who do you think I missed?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Ethier, at $13.5 million this season, and making no impact. Mattingly is disgusted with him, and only plays him because other guys are injured. When Mattingly says the team needs to play with more “grit,” this is one of the guys he’s talking about. That’s a manager’s way of saying a player is “soft.”
Here’s a real nice newspaper article about Affeldt’s visit to Modesto yesterday to dedicate a youth baseball field. Read this, and you’ll lose some of the lousy feeling about last night’s Giants game.
http://www.modbee.com/2013/06/21/2773404/big-crowd-welcomes-giants-jeremy.html
Based on last night (and night before) I might be more interested in cishek…looks like his pitches move quite a bit. Casilla might be ready by next homestand after July 4. Hector got a BB last night!
Giants just need to get though this. All you have to do is win the division, which no one is good enough to run away with. There is also some advantage in getting guys like Arias Perez and Noonan some ABs and PT.
Flav, Ethier could crack that list if you take out Kemp. I remember blogger on cbs game track posting Kemp and 50-50 would be 50 runs scored 50 rbis.
And um, Garza pitched well again, albeit vs. Stros. I’ll admit to be interested in Vogs recovery–maybe the time off will help, and Tim had a pretty decent outing vs. everyone not named Morrison. As James reminded us a while back, neither Z nor Lincecum are much worse than last year….when SF won it all.
At $28 million a year, Alex Rodriguez is considered a bum according to this baseball app that will tell you whether the player is worth it or is a “bum.” I didn’t check, but all those guys seem like they would get the “Bum” rating on this app as well.
http://baseballplayersalaries.com/players/34_Alex_Rodriguez
I know but I’m not doing DL guys. But obviously he’s not worth the money he’s paid
But an all DL team of suckitude would be a good thread too. I could probably just cut and paste the Yankee roster
Amazingly, Albert Pujols is considered “worth it” per the app I cited above (it only considers this year’s salary). Vernon Wells is only “overpaid.” Stephen Drew is “Underperforming.” Brian McCann is “overpaid.” Cole Hamels is “overpaid.” The rest of your list Flav are “bums.” 🙂
that app appears quite random. None of the players on my list are producing equal to their pay this season
I suck more at all those positions and I’m not making a dime. I need to have a talk with my agent
Looks like money doesn’t buy happiness. Damn! Now what do I believe in?
Timmy is now 2.92 ERA 1.176 WHIP in his 4 June starts, he’s removed himself from the bullpen picture. With Vogelsong, Kickham, and Surkamp all being viable options within the organization if needed, I’m not so sure that Sabean should be looking at starting pitching. On the pen, obviously Casilla has been missed, more than any of the position players, whose replacements have performed well. I’d expect Kontos back soon and Santiago is due back in mid-July, I believe. That set up position is so fluid right now, if a guy throws a good inning, he’s settin’ up the next niight. Hembree, BTW, is doing his own Tire Fire impersonation over in Fresno ( 10.97 ERA .346 BAA in his last 10 games.) Other than Kontos, the Fresno cupboard is bare.Nothing to get excited about in Richmond, either. For now, I’d get Kontos back up for Dunning and give Rosario the next try as the temp RH set up guy…and hope Pablo comes back blazing..
Interesting thread. Don’t know that I’d include Cain on that list; he’s still the team’s *horse* and while his ERA is high from that bad April, he seems to be back on track. Also not sure I’d put Hamels on that list, despite his 2-11 record. His pitch counts do tend to be high due to a lot of full counts and, not sure why, a lot of foul balls, but the Phils have been doing to him what the Giants used to do to Cain: no run support. Phils are going to be in no man’s land next month, maybe still within striking distance of the playoffs, but really, not too realistic. Will they move Papelbon? Lee? Their GM is saying no. We’ll see. (I’m “reporting” on the Phils because I’m visiting my folks in PA right now, seeing a lot of Philly baseball..)
As for the Giants… yeah, live through this, huh. All these injuries are just starting to remind me of 2011. A month from now, if they’re still within a few games of the top, and the nearly endless list of injured return in good form, they *should be* in good shape… could be frustrating between now and then, though.
I’m not a big WAR guy but here’s what fangraphs says the pitchers are worth per million.
http://tinyurl.com/mgw3vrt
You’re right about Hamels (at least he’s not horrible, he ranks 41st at 7mil (though he’s making 20). Cain is 93rd (out of 100 ranked). Timmy is 54th (3.6 mil). Bum is 34th. Bud Norris, if anyone cares, is ranked higher than all Giants starters at 31st (8mil).
Haren got destroyed again today, gone after 3.
Crawford back.
1. Gregor Blanco (L) LF
2. Marco Scutaro (R) 2B
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Hunter Pence (R) RF
5. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
6. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
7. Nick Noonan (L) 3B
8. Juan Perez (R) CF
9. Barry Zito (L) P
Let’s not forget BJ Upton, he down right sucks baseball’s.
.171 AVG. .266 OBP. .311 SLG. .577 OPS.
He was definitely considered. But, he’s *only* making 12.5mil this year and if I included him I wouldn’t have been able to include Kemp (since I just went with one player for each position).
Even my Amy G. inflatable doll has sprung a leak! Nothing is going right now.
nuthin that a little tire glue couldn’t fix, Nip. Head on out to the van and scrape some up.
yes sir! good advice.
Really nice to see Ishikawa back in the bigs. This is his 3rd start since his recall. Slow start first 2 games( 1 for 9 5 K ), but he just drove a run in the Toronto game. Travis was a Good Giant…IMO.
Agree. I thought he was a good player while here.
I concur.
“Pagan said MRI revealed small tear in hamstring. Getting a 2nd opinion but surgery a strong possibility & would sideline him 6 wks “
May as well get it done.
Agree Nip,
Stop dicking around with this injury.Has a small tear in the tendon,”Get IT FIXED NOW” and we’re see you in mid August.
It’s been way to long and were short a roster spot for awhile over this crap!
Freakin medical staff should of shut him down,and not let the player totally try and con the situation.
My rook Myers finally went yard and in a big way – Grand Salami!
Way to Oscar,uhh Will Meyer.
“Blades main weiner guy for the day”!!!!
Interesting match up:
Liriano 5-3 2,44
Jerome Wiliiams 5-2 3.14
Time to squeeze?
Damn.
WTG Blanco
Love any clip with Greenwald’s voice in it. Probably my favorite
Hank was my favorite, even over Miller or Lon.
Me too. That guy was laid back before weed was even around (almost anyway). 🙂
At least the Giants got some rings for ponying up for their 2 or 3 (I would put Zito in there too even with his recent success [including today!]) breaking-down aces. But two of those players stand out in their ludicrousness. Pujols and Hamilton. Anyone can see Hamilton has huge holes in his swing and huge questions of motivation and character. Pujols is just old and can’t run. I get that they have money and want to win now, but they have dug themselves a $50 million dollar yearly hole to start from for the better part of a decade.
One more thing why the Twins would sink almost 1/2 their payroll into two players is just as crazy as the Angels and Dodgers off-season moves. If you are small market play small market ball, sign huge long-term deals at your own peril.
Not bad. You’ve given us a lot to think about, Boxhead!
Yeah!
With Pagan done it’s critical that Pablo comes back on Mon and takes over for Noonan or Arias at third. Arias has been ok (Noonan less than ok) and this LU needs a big bat influx to it. Panda Time
Nice seven for the Zit man. Come on Affeldt.
I don’t know what’s more incredible: That Chad Qualls is still pitching in the majors, or that the Giants can’t hit him.
Timmy’s long hair never bothered me, but Crawls needs to get a fucking haircut IMO.
Hallelujah!
Finally.
Nice bounce back from the pen and superb job from Zits. Sandy Rosario come on down, you’re the new RH set up man.. for now 😉
Greenwald wrote a nice auto bio; he’s from up in Pawlie’s neck of the woods, went to Cuse while Jim Brown was there. Not a big fan of Larry Baer either, who he said repeatedly screwed he and broadcast crew over.
And, I’m just saying…on flav’s tinyurl list of pitchers and value per million, Cliff Lee ranks 6th, right in btw King Felix and Yu da man Darvish.
Twin does make a good point tho–Lincecum’s last few outings have been mostly an improvement, Vogs is due back eventually, maybe one of the kids comes up, Gaudin goes back to the pen. And the bean counters don’t throw a fit.
Hank was my favorite also, no one I’ve heard captured the ambience of baseball better than Greenwald. A guy who’s really grown on the job is Flemming, but I fear we’ll lose him soon, he’s going to be a star.
I agree. I’ve said it before here many times, I think the guy is outstanding. If I were the Padres, I’d do my best to get him to be the #1 guy down here. They could really use an upgrade.
Also wanted to chime in that I was glad to see Ishi back and doing well and Frandsen hit a walk-off today. i really liked both of those guys as Giants.
GIANTS WIN! BEAT MIAMI!
Add Bobby Bonilla. Pretty sure the Metropolitans are still paying him. As Jack Paar would say, I kid you not.
Tired out, but I had a great day today in Cooperstown selling and signing “Baseball’s Starry Night” and “World Serious” (around 20 books sold, maybe more!) while the World Series trophy made an appearance two doors down at the HOF like a statue during the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy. Fecking GREAT stories to tell Flap Nation….if I can compose myself to compose some notes, maybe later. Touched by Giants fans in town. We have the best fans. It’s not even close. It’s not just flag waving to say that. People here from the Bay Area! Yikes. One guy and his family from Guyana. Giants fan. (OK, so he lives near Albany now.) Plus, I butt-dialed Magnus and got score updates from Macdog! What could be better? I’ll tell you what could be better: THE GIANTS WON. If we had lost, I was ready to take the gas pipe.
Leake went into the 6th against AZ with a no-no, came out of it down 2-1. Corbin for the Snakes, both guys have 2 hitters now, bottom 7..
Bruce takes Bell deep- 3-2 Reds top nine.
And Chapman blows it… 4-3 Snakes, final.
I caught Perez’s face-first slide into home on the Zito squeeze bunt attempt while watching at the Tunnicliff Inn. In my unhumble opinion, that’s a dumbshit move. Head first into home? Why? Did Perez tear a page from the Manny Burriss instructional manual? (BTW, Tim Lincecum has more lifetime triples than speedy Emmanuel Burriss.)
Your comments caused me to take a peek at Manny’s numbers. 800+ plate appearances, 16 extra basehits. I always liked the guy but that’s the definition of “no pop”. He’s in the minors with the Reds this year, same thing: 206 PA, 4 extra base hits..
Actually, I was surprised at only 1 triple. I figured him for four or five, easily.
Not enough pop to drive it through the gap in triple’s alley. But yeah, you’d think he’d have a few down the line…
Panda 3 for 3 with another HR. Get him up here, now.
From up above, Flemming isn’t going anywhere. Why would he go take a national gig when he’s already got what he’s got now? He loves working with Miller and those “four” clearly enjoy their work together on a gig that can’t be surpassed by any other gig in baseball.
In the off season he’s got work with the Pac 10 network and ESPN for basketball…
He fucking loves it here, He went to Stanford and still jacks off constantly to them as his twitter account clearly shows. He’s a big family guy and they love living here. He plays golf all the time and where better place can you play golf? If he goes huge-network he gives up a lot of shit he’s already got in his life.
No way Flem leaves, in fact he could turn out to be the next *Scully* of baseball, only for the Giants…….
Well, that’s one opinion.There’s a lot of money in network work and he can live anywhere he wants. Working for Fox, ABC, whovever ,does not mean relocating. I’m not saying I know what he’ll end up doing, but you don’t know either. Having known Miller, Ted Robinson, Wayne Walker, and many of the old timers in the biz, I have some insight. Wayne had a future doing NFL football but didn’t like the travel. Ted had to curtail his baseball work due to his national work but has been able to do the Niners. If Dave was a baseball only guy, like Scully has become, or like Miller, I think he’d likely stay here. But as 3 sport guy who can even do more, he will have a boatload of bucks thrown at him someday and the grind of local baseball work might be too much.
That makes sense
BTW, I didn’t comment on the Blooper squad because, believe it or not, I couldn’t find much to disagree with.
I wonder if a couple of the players saw Flav’s A-BR team today. Vernon Wells hit a huge pinch-hit 3-run double (hitting for Chris Stewart) that was the difference in the Yanks’ win; he’s now 10 for his last 88. And Michael Young connected for his 4th HR this season. Ah, but then there’s Haren.
Would agree. In 5 yrs, he might be da man working with some young protege. He’s a talent but not my cup of joe. Growing up with Lon and Russ, then spoiled with Hank, just never warmed up to the kid. A bit too windy and shrill. But I even have to mute the gabby Miller.
It was a long game and the G-men were due -vs- daFish.Zito a very nice game after losing his dad.
1. Gregor Blanco (L) CF
2. Marco Scutaro (R) 2B
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Hunter Pence (R) RF
5. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
6. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
7. Andres Torres (S) LF
8. Nick Noonan (L) 3B
9. Matt Cain (R) P